The Way We Were
by CarissaLies
Summary: AU Broe: Brady gets drafted to go to Vietnam so Chloe, just finishing up nursing school, signs up to be near him. Please read and review.
1. chapter 1

Sbe never thought she'd get used to the sound of the helicopters flying past, landing behind her. She didn't know it then, but the sounds would haunt her dreams for years to come. When she became a nurse it was starched white uniforms and changing bedpans, but here in Vietnam, it was nothing of the sort. Her father, the chief of staff back in Salem would have a heart attack if he could see her now. He hadn't wanted her to sign up. Her mother had begged her to stay. But neither Craig, nor Nancy could stop her from what she felt she needed to do.  
  
When Brady left, her heart had broken. She'd never forget the day he was drafted. equally the saddest, and happiest day of her young life. She didn't see the draft broadcast. She was at school when they did the lottery. She had gotten home and Craig and Nancy were gone. Brady was sitting on her front porch, in her porch swing when Mimi dropped her off.  
  
"Hey there, I didn't expect you until later," she said, smiling wide.  
  
"Well, I had to surprise my diva, now didn't I. Come on, go upstairs and put something beautiful on. I've got the whole night for us planned."  
  
"But why Brady?"  
  
"I'll tell you why later. It's not important now. What's important in spending time with you, now hurry...." Brady smiled and she ran upstairs to change her clothes. She threw open her closet and put on her nicest sweater and skirt combination and bounded down the stairs toward hm. His face erupted in a smile when he saw her.  
  
"Oh diva, you look absolutely perfect." He took her for dinner at Tuscany and from there they went to the Gazebo. "Chloe, I want this to be the most magical night of your life."  
  
"Oh, it is. Brady.... well, there's something I've wanted to tell you, but I've just been so scared. We have been friends for so long, and I don't even know when it happened, but maybe it's been here since we first met. I never saw it when I was with Philip, I guess I just wanted to believe I loved him. But I knew when he asked me to marry him that I had only ever loved one. Brady, I love you. I love you more than anything."  
  
"Chloe, you have no idea. I love you, too. I was hoping you felt the same. I was terrified to come out here today. Chloe, I brought you out here to ask you to marry me. I want to, no I have to spend the rest of my life with you.." With that he leaned in, put a ring on her finger, and gave her a soul searing kiss.  
  
"Brady, of course I'll marry you. Will you... I mean, can we..... I love you so much, will you make love to me? She said, leaning in to kiss him again. He smiled, caressed her cheek. He put his fingers through her hair.  
  
"Someday, Chloe, I promise that someday I will." He took her home then walked her to the porch and kissed her goodnight. "You have sweet dreams tonight, tomorrow we have to talk about something."  
  
"Goodnight Brady. I... I love you."  
  
"I know, diva. I love you too." She went inside to see Nancy and Craig waiting for her. They were frowning. "It's not past my curfew is it? I'm sorry, but Brady, Brady, he.. he proposed to me tonight."  
  
"Oh sweetie, that's wonderful, no you aren't past curfew yet. We were just worried about you. We know that Brady got drafted today and we didn't know how you would handle it." Nancy put her arm around her daughter.  
  
"Brady got what? What do you mean Brady got drafted? Not my Brady, no."  
  
"I'm afraid so, Chloe. We saw it on the news. We were so worried about you." Craig said, kissing her head. The color ran from her face.  
  
"Your car, Craig, I need to borrow your car. I need to see Brady, I need to ask him."  
  
"I don't think that's a very good idea, sweetheart. He didn't tell you tonight for a reason," Nancy said.  
  
"Let her go, honey. She needs to do this." She drove furiously. She didn't remember getting there, it was almost as if she got in the car and his building just appeared before her. She ran upstairs and pounded on his door.  
  
"Brady Victor Black, get down here and open up this door right now." He opened up the door with surprise.  
  
"Chloe, what are you doing here. I just left your house."  
  
"Is it true, Brady? Did you get drafted today, is it true? Is it true and you just didn't tell me?"  
  
"Chloe, I...."  
  
"It is then. What Craig and Nancy told me is true. You're leaving me. We just finally found each other and you're leaving me. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. This is how my life works, isn't it."  
  
"Chloe, don't......"  
  
"Don't what, Brady? Don't cry, don't scream and yell and shout. Don't hate God for doing this to me?" She screamed, tears for the first time, pouring down her cheeks.  
  
"Chloe, I will come home. I promise you that nothing will happen to me and I will come home."  
  
"You.... you promise? How can you promise?"  
  
"This is true love. We didn't just find each other to be ripped apart now."  
  
"Oh Brady, oh, I love you." She kissed him fiercely. "And this time, I'm not taking no for an answer." 


	2. chapter 2

It seemed like only a few short weeks between the time she found out he was leaving and the time her actually left, but in reality it was a few months. She had graduated nursing school two weeks after they drew his numbers and had signed up directly after he had left for basics. She needed to be there to help him. She needed to be there in case......  
  
Most of the time she was elbow deep in blood and gore. The smell of burnt flesh was singed in her hair. She just wanted to be clean. At first, she tried to make the best of it. She even had some friends in country. The nurse who stayed next to her, Belle was great, well, used to be great. She used to be cheerful and sing off key all the time. Hell, they had both sung together. No longer, ever since her fiance Kevin died she hadn't been herself. She was mechanical. She no longer even smiled.  
  
It was one of Chloe's rare moments to herself. She had just gotten off a rigorous 18 hour shift and the stench of death was still lingering in her clothes. She was too exhausted to care. She just collapsed on her bed with the latest letter from Brady.  
  
Dear Chloe,  
  
I'm not going to lie to you. Things are bad out here. I just keep thinking of you and that keeps me going. We went through a village today and everybody went a little crazy. There isn't anything I wouldn't give to be sitting in Salem with you. Going to the movies with you, going bowling with you. Just being with you. I spend so much time thinking of all the time we wasted not being together. I just can't get used to this, I don't understand how they can expect this of me. At least I'm not alone out here. Shawn's doing good. Way better than I expected actually. Susan sent him a letter yesterday. It wasn't good. What kind of heartless bitch dumps a guy in a letter, when he's over here? I guess she's turned all hippie anti-war and just can't be with a soldier anymore. What a laugh, like we aren't anti-war. Don't they understand what they're protesting for? Maybe I just don't understand what they're protesting for. If not for the loss of our lives then what? the vietnamese? I just don't understand. I'll write soon. We're close, you know. Maybe you'll see me one of these days.  
  
Love that never ends,  
  
Brady  
  
"Oh god, I hope not, Brady," she said sadly.  
  
"what was that, chlo?" Belle asked, peeking her head in.  
  
"Nothing. I'm just worried about Brady."  
  
"You're always worried about Brady. Guess what I did?"  
  
"No idea."  
  
"I went on a run with the guys. I mean, what a rush? The adrenaline is still pumping through my veins."  
  
"You did what?!? Are you crazy? Do you want to die? Not to mention what'll happen if you get caught."  
  
"Oh I'm so scared. Come on, Chloe, lighten up."  
  
"Come on Belle, it's really dangerous out there. What about your family? Don't you worry about them and what would happen them if something happened to you?"  
  
"There's always been just me and my mom. I have a brother and sister, twins actually, but they left a long time ago. My mom never stayed with my dad. He was in love with another woman and even if she was dead, my mom couldn't ever compare to her memory. I have a brother I've never met, but that's all I know. I could have a whole nother family out there."  
  
"You're mother never told you his name?"  
  
"It doesn't matter. He didn't want me. He didn't care about me."  
  
"Maybe he didn't even know about you. Maybe your mom just assumed he wouldn't want you.."  
  
"All I know is that John Black should drop off the face of the earth." 


	3. chapter 3

"Your father's name is John Black. And what is your mother's name? What is your full name?" Chloe asked urgently.  
  
"My name is Isabella Marie Evans. My mothers name is Marlena Evans. Why are you asking so many questions Chloe?"  
  
"She named you Isabella."  
  
"What are you talking about, Chloe?"  
  
"Belle, you were named after Brady's mother. You are Brady's sister. John Black is his father too."  
  
"What? You know my family?" she asked, hopefully and then paused. "None of that matters. He abandoned me. He didn't care enough."  
  
"Oh Belle. That's not true. John never knew about you. He's been searching for your mother for all these years. John told me that the only other woman he could ever love was your mother. He used to talk about your mother and Isabelle at the dinner table. He said that the only good things in his life were taken from him. That the only thing he ever had good was Brady. When Brady was taken....... Belle, he would love you. You should write him a letter.."  
  
"He loved my mother?"  
  
"He's never stopped loving your mother. He was going to propose to her the night she ran away."  
  
"I need to go think for a while."  
  
"Take all the time you need Belle. I have the address here if you want to write."  
  
"Yeah, maybe I'll do that later. I'm going to get back to the hospital."  
  
"But Belle, your shift doesn't start until the morning."  
  
"They need all the help they can get. I won't be able to sleep with all this stuff swimming in my head. I've just got to go help someone."  
  
"Its a good thing Belle. Brady is the most wonderful man in the world. And he's always wanted a sister."  
  
"I've gotta go Chloe." She smiled weakly and wandered to the door. Chloe sighed, and started to write Brady a letter but thought better of it. She layed down on her bed and closed her eyes.  
  
Flashback  
  
"Don't cry, Diva. I'll come home in one piece. It's true love. Nothing and no one can keep us apart. Now smile for me. I need something to think about while I'm out there."  
  
"Oh, Brady. I have to tell you something and I know you're going to get mad at me."  
  
"There is nothing that you can say that I will get mad about Diva."  
  
"Oh, trust me Brady. This is something that you can get very mad about."  
  
"Whatever it is, nothing can make me mad at you right now. I love you so much."  
  
"I start basics next Tuesday. I'm going to be a nurse over there." He frowned, then shook his head in disbelief. "I was grief stricken. If you get hurt, I want to be there Brady. You'll need me. I can't just sit here on my hands and wait for you."  
  
"But why didn't you tell me before. Chloe, this is crazy. What if you get hurt?"  
  
"What if you get hurt? What if you die? How can I live with myself if I hadn't been there to help you in some way? I know it's not ezactly the same, but I want an idea of what you are going through out there. I want to be able to help you when you come home. I love you Brady, and that's what loving you means to me."  
  
"I suppose it's too late to talk you out of this."  
  
"You wouldn't be able to anyway. This is what I need to do for you, for Shawn, for everyone."  
  
"I admire you. I really do Chloe. This is true bravery. You volunteered for this."  
  
"Well, I am getting paid. I mean, I needed to find a job anyway. Think of how good this will look on my resume. See, I'm completely selfish. Besides, how could I be that far away from my soulmate."  
  
"Chloe, I....."  
  
"Enough Brady. Enough sad talk for us now. We've got the rest of our lives to be weighed down but we've only a few hours left for happiness."  
  
"Agreed. We will make the most of this time together." He kissed her and looked into her eyes. "We'll be okay. We'll get through this."  
  
"I know we will Brady. I know we will."  
  
End of Flashback  
  
"Chloe, Chloe. You need to wake up right now. Chloe, we need you. CHLOE!" She opened her eyes and looked into the eyes of Greta, the Major in charge of Trauma nurses.  
  
"Did I sleep through my alarm?" she asked, and then sat up quickly. "Oh God, is it Brady? Is that why you didn't send someone for me? Is he dead? Will he be ok?"  
  
"Calm down, Chloe. It's not Brady. It's Belle. I sent her back because we didn't need her anymore and she was outside talking to the guys who go on helicopter runs, well, she went with them. They know the helicopter got shot down and they know she survived, they had her on the radio. But they don't know where she is. I know that she's your friend, so I came to tell you myself. I know it's going to be hard, but I need you to come to the hospital. There was a battle, we're going to have a lot of casualties and I need all the help I can get." Chloe nodded. Greta patted her on the back and left. Chloe shook out her boots and put them on, a tear falling down her cheek. She needed to find Belle, not just because she was Chloe closest friend here, but so that her Brady could finally have the little sister he always wanted. 


	4. chapter 4

She worked all the time, just to keep her mind busy. A few days felt like a few months of this tedious waiting. She worked on patients looking at the door most of the time. She prayed almost constantly for them to find Belle. Strangely enough, Belle was one of Chloe's first female friends. She had lived with older relatives until she was twelve, and by then her tastes were of opera and old movies. She had nothing in common with children her own age. When she met Brady, he was the first person she had really connected with. He understood that she was a little strange, because he was a little strange himself. Brady was wonderful.  
  
She walked away from the hospital. She almost hadn't heard Greta ordering her to get some rest. Everything ran together anymore. She walked sullenly back to her tent and layed down on her bed. She closed her eyes and again prayed for the safe return for those she loved, as she fell to a dreamful sleep.  
  
She was finally home again. Her mom had made all her favorite foods for her return. She was flitting about her trying to make her more comfortable than she was, but that was impossible. She had never felt better sitting on the warm dry couch eating delicious food.  
  
"Is there anything you need baby? More milk and cookies? Would you like another BLT?"  
  
"No thank you mom. Where's Brady?"  
  
"He'll be here shortly. Oh honey, I missed you so much."  
  
"I missed you too Mom. I'm so glad to be home. I missed Salem so much. I never thought I'd say that. Hell, I almost missed Philip."  
  
"Don't ever say that again."  
  
"Relax, I just missed him being a jerk. At least it was familiar. Everything there is foreign." There was a loud knock on the door. "Is that Brady?"  
  
"It most certainly is." Chloe leaped up to answer the door, only to find Philip holding a bouquet of roses. She frowned.  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"I heard you were home. I wanted to see you. I love you Chloe."  
  
"Leave me alone Philip. I just got home. I don't have the energy to see you." He threw the flowers on the porch and stomped on them, throwing a fit just like a small child. "Oh, grow up Philip. You don't always get what you want." She shut the door. "That was not Brady, Mom, that was deffinately not Brady."  
  
"Who was it, sweetheart?"  
  
"It was Philip. Where's Brady?"  
  
"I'm right here Chloe. Turn around." She turned around and saw Brady. She leaped into his arms. "Chloe, you are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."  
  
"Oh Brady, I missed you so much," she said, kissing him furiously.  
  
"I have to go Chloe. You need to wake up now." She frowned.  
  
"No Brady, don't go. Please don't leave me. I need you Brady. Don't go, Brady. I love you." she said, still sleeping.  
  
"Chloe, wake up, diva. Please wake up. I won't leave you. I love you. Open your eyes Chloe." She opened her eyes and Brady was there. She sat up.  
  
"Am I still dreaming? What are you doing here? Oh my god, I'm still dreaming."  
  
"No, Chloe. I'm here." He leaned in and kissed her passionately. She kissed him back with all she had in her. She wrapped her arms around him and held on tightly.  
  
"I'm never letting you go, never."  
  
"Well, I think Belle and Shawn will be very dissappointed."  
  
"Belle? You found Belle? Is she ok?"  
  
"She being checked out right now. She deffinately has a broken arm, but other than that she's probably fine. We found her wandering around the jungle. Boy, that was weird, let me tell you. The last thing you expect to find out there is a woman, a very muddy woman, but a woman none the less. It's funny, I feel close to her. But Shawn, Shawn hasn't left her side. I think he's in love."  
  
"Brady, Belle is your baby sister."  
  
"Chloe, are you feeling ok? I don't have a sister. I don't even have any brothers."  
  
"She's Marlena's child. She's even named after your mother. Aren't you excited? I don't think I was suppoised to tell you, but I can't keep it away from you. You always wanted a little sister and now you have one."  
  
"Belle from the jungle is my little sister? The girl my cousin was kissing in the jungle is my sister."  
  
"Don't say it like that, Brady. He's not her cousin. You're making it sound really weird."  
  
"I have a sister now. That's weird. The fact that her and Shawn, my best friend aside from you, was kissing her is just surreal."  
  
"Let's go up to the hospital. I want to see them."  
  
"Let's stay here and get reaquainted." He said, pulling her into another kiss. He wrapped his arms around her and layed beside her on the bed as they made both of their dreams come true. 


	5. chapter 5

After lounging in Chloe's tent for quite a while, Brady and Chloe decided to make their way to the hospital to see Belle. She was in a hospital bed surrounded by members of the hospital staff asking her questions about her journey. She shook her head and cooly said that she wouldn't speak of it yet. Shawn frowned and tried to get them to go about their business.  
  
"She needs her rest, aren't you guys supposed to know that?" he said, irritably. He was being extremely protective of her, but Chloe didn't know why.  
  
"Well, some of us, Shawn Douglas Brady, haven't been able to rest at all with worry. So I'll ask her what I want." Chloe said laughing. She ran up to him and gave him a huge hug. "And now, to yell at you. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"  
  
"Well, you said that you missed Brady..." Belle said, finally smiling.  
  
"Cut the crap, I know you didn't go find Brady for me. I was worried sick. Are you okay? Really okay, because this is me we're talking about. You can tell me if you aren't."  
  
"I'm just tired. And hungry. I've got a broken arm and a cracked rib. Lucky, but just not lucky enough. Another rib and they might have sent me home." Chloe laughed, but she wished that they would have. Belle shouldn't be in a place like this. Belle should be at home married with a nice job at a hospital delivering babies. Hell, she should be having babies. War wasn't a place for people like her and brady. It wasn't a place for anyone she knew. Greta came over to see Belle.  
  
"I need to speak with you Belle. They sent a telegraph to your family telling them you were shot down and presumed missing in action. I can let you call your family to let them know that you are fine."  
  
"Thank you, Greta. That's very kind."  
  
"Chloe, you may have the rest of the day off. Enjoy it. I know how hard you've been working the past few days and I appreciate it. It must have been very hard for you."  
  
"You have no idea." She smiled as the older woman walked away. Belle yawned. "You should sleep more."  
  
"I would if I wasn't so hungry. Even food from the mess tent sounds good today."  
  
"You must be hungry. No one craves a mushy tuna fish sandwich."  
  
"I need a coke too. God, I swear that's all I could think about in the jungle."  
  
"Tell you what, you go to sleep and we'll go to the mess tent and bring you something back. And I'm not taking no for an answer. We're taking Shawn with us."  
  
"I want to talk to Brady for a minute, Chloe, please?" Shawn looked from Brady to Belle, hurt at her words. She smiled a reassuring smile at Shawn.  
  
"I think that's a fine idea. Shawn and I will be waiting just outside for you, handsome." Shawn looked worried as Chloe led him away from his Belle.  
  
"Chloe, I missed you."  
  
"Shawn, I missed you too. So, what's going on with you and Belle? You seem awfully protective of her."  
  
"Chloe, you are going to think I'm crazy, but I'm in love with her. I am head over heels for her. From the moment I layed eyes on her, covered in mud, humming a little tune and limping right along, I have fell inexplicably drawn to her."  
  
"Shawn Brady, I do not think you're crazy. You, Brady and I have been friends for a while now. You've been Brady's best friend since you were both in diapers. If you say you're in love with her, than I believe you."  
  
"She doesn't feel the same, she's probably telling Brady right now she loves him."  
  
"I have no doubt that she loves Brady, but it isn't what you're thinking."  
  
"What do you mean, Chloe?"  
  
"It's not my place to tell you, Shawn. You'll have to ask her yourself. But she's not in love with Brady, that I can promise you. Not with the way she looks at you."  
  
Meanwhile  
  
"So, Brady, I suppose you wonder why I asked to talk to you."  
  
"I'm a little curious yes." Brady was afraid to divulge that his girlfriend couldn't keep a secret. He decided to let her tell him.  
  
"There's really no way to put this. I'm just going to be blunt, I guess. I'm.... well, you're.... we're..... you are my brother Brady. Your father is my father. My mother is Marlena."  
  
"You're my sister? I have a sister? I've always wanted a sister."  
  
"You have?"  
  
"Of course, I grew up with no brothers or sisters. Just me and shawn."  
  
"You grew up with Shawn. Does he have a girlfriend back home?"  
  
"Does my baby sister have a crush?"  
  
"Brady! You dont' have to tease me just because you found out that I'm your sister."  
  
"No, I would have teased you anyway. Nope, Shawn doesn't have a girlfriend. He's in love with someone though."  
  
"He is? Is it Chloe?"  
  
"No, Chloe is my girlfriend, Shawn would never do that. It's you."  
  
"Did he tell you that?"  
  
"He didn't have to." Just then, Greta showed up with a wheelchair to take Belle to phone her mother. Brady smiled and hugged her. "I love you, Belle"  
  
"I love you too, Brady." 


	6. chapter 6

It had three months since the day they found Belle and Chloe was getting worried. She'd received just two letters from Brady, both dated more than a month before. Everytime she closed her eyes, she pictured the soldiers she was working on were Brady. She was trying to train herself not to close her eyes.  
  
Belle wasn't doing much better. Chloe heard her crying before bed one night. "I know why they drink, you know Cassie, Jan and Cynthia. I know why they drink. It's easier that way. You don't have to think then. Cassie's brother, the only thing she has, is in the same company as Brady and Shawn, she hasn't heard from him either. Why don't you get a bottle of vodka, Chloe, and get some orange juice. Then maybe we'll get to sleep tonight too."  
  
"It's not going to make you feel better. It might make you forget for a while. But you'll just feel worse tomorrow. It's not worth it."  
  
"You don't understand. I've already lost someone I love so much. It's not fair. I need to forget, just for one night. Sometimes I wish it was like before when I didn't have anyone to worry about."  
  
"You don't really mean that, you know. Life isn't worth it until you have someone to worry about. You don't realize it, but I've had no one. It eats you up worse than this."  
  
"I know. I just want to have everything I want in the world... The real world, not this hell hole. I just want to wake up one morning to the best breakfast I ever had, in a real bed, not a cot, delivered to me by Shawn."  
  
"Oh god, I know. What I wouldn't give for that? There fine, you know. They're just in some battle far from us. They'll be fine. They have to be."  
  
"Oh Chloe, I wish I had your faith," said Belle, before laying down and going to sleep.  
  
"Yeah Belle, me too."  
  
*a few days later*  
  
Chloe was working alongside nurses she didn't know well. Belle had just come off a night shift and went to lay down in their hut when casualties came pouring in. Chloe was working triage and had cleared most of the room when she saw Shawn standing in the corner over a makeshift bed. Chloe felt her heart break as she ran to him.  
  
"He's not doing good Chloe. He'll live, I think, but he's going to lose, well, he's probably going to lose his leg. He's next in line for surgery. The nurse said they would decide for sure in there." She checked his vitals, and busied herself checking his IV.  
  
"Oh god, did you tell Cassie yet. Where's Brady? (thought it was brady, didn'tcha? i couldn't do that)"  
  
"Brady sent me with him. I mean, I got this cut I need to get checked out. I didn't want to leave him out there, but he made me, you know how he is."  
  
"Let me see that cut. Jesus, Shawn, why didn't you have someone look at this before. You may need surgery on this." she signaled one of the doctors to look at him. "And Shawn, when you're done here, make sure you see Belle, she's worried sick.  
  
"Sure thing Chloe, I wouldn't miss it."  
  
**Author's Note** Sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter up. I went to Wyoming for a couple of weeks and then had some mad writers block. Please give me some reviews... I'd love to know if there were more than just one of you reading. 


End file.
